Document Type
Honors Project
First Advisor
Dr. Randy Young
Degree Award Date
Spring 2008
Keywords
Status, Sincerity, Repeat Offenders, Apologies, Forgiveness
Disciplines
Social Psychology and Interaction | Sociology
Abstract
Apologies depend upon one's sincere demeanor and another's forgiveness. Varying defendants' status and sincerity, and order of the justifications, we had participants watch five defendants, already on probation, justify their current offense. Results indicated both anticipated and surprising influences on forgiveness. As predicted, compared to pre-experimental session ratings, participants were more jaded about legal transgressions at the end of the experiment. However, during the experimental session, participants were more forgiving of the final defendant than the first. Additionally, the status and sincerity of the defendant impacted participants' judgments of forgiveness.
Recommended Citation
Powers, Jessica N., "The Jaded Judge: How the Status and Sincerity of Repeat Offenders' Apologies Impact Forgiveness" (2008). Honors Projects. 205.
https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/honors_projects/205